The invention relates to ammunition having a case, the wall of which consists of a combustible or consumable wound package with at least one double layer of intersecting filaments, with said filaments being impregnated or coated with a binding agent and with a end socket containing the detonating charge being connected to the wound package.
Ammunition with a case, the wall,of which consists of a combustible or consumable wound package with at least one double layer of intersecting filaments which are impregnated or coated with a binding agent, is known from DE-OS 2 424 900. According to this publication the individual filament layers exhibit a homogeneous structure with respect to the deposition of the filaments. There is no description of the adaptation of the projectile and of the end socket to the wound package of the case.
From U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,445 it is known to develop the propellent charge out of filaments that have previously been produced from a powder mixture, the explosive substance. The powder mixtures are, for example, dissolved in acetone and shaped by spinnerets into filaments, dried and subsequently wound up. In this process the winding is not restricted to just a few layers, but instead complete coils are wound. The latter may not only be inserted into traditional cases as propellent charge, they may even form the body of the ammunition. How the projectile is inserted into these wound bodies is neither represented nor described.
The object of the present invention is to present ammunition having a combustible or consumable wound body, the filaments in the windings being deposited optimally over the length of the wound body in a manner that is matched to the variable possible loadings and to the desired burn-up behaviour.
This object is achieved by making the wound package in one piece and by virtue of a changing deposition of filaments over the length of the wound package, the density of winding of the wound package is being variable, matching the loading of the case.
The wound body according to the invention is in one piece. The projectile is inserted at the case mouth of said wound body, the adaptation region for the projectile, and at its other end said wound package bears a end socket with the detonating charge. By reason of the one-piece design, the separate production of the case halves and a process step for the assembly of the case halves are advantageously dispensed with.
In accordance with the invention the filaments are deposited unevenly over the length of the wound package. The density of winding, that is to say the number of times the filament or filaments is/are deposited over the length of the wound body, is matched to the actual and possible loadings and also to the desired burn-up behaviour. The greater, for example, the pressure loading on a case in one region, the greater the number of deposited filaments is chosen to be in this region
The density of winding is influenced substantially by the angle of intersection. With an intersecting deposition of the filaments on the periphery of the wound body the angle of intersection is the angle between two filaments running towards one another in the direction of deposition in a so-called double layer. A double layer consists of a layer of filaments which have been deposited in the direction towards one end of the wound package and of the overlying layer of filaments which have been deposited in the opposite direction, in the direction towards the other end of the wound body. Since the filaments oil the periphery of the wound bodies are deposited in helical manner in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the ammunition, the pitch of the deposition determines the angle of intersection. with a small pitch, the angle of intersection is likewise small; with a large pitch it is likewise large. The strength and load-carrying capacity of a wound package, as well as its burn-up behaviour, are additionally influenced by the method of winding. for instance, one filament can be wound alone, or several filaments running in parallel with a slight spacing from one another can be wound to form a wound package.
In an advantageous further development of the invention the angle of intersection of the filaments of the wound body in the adaptation region for the projectile and in is the adaptation region for the end socket is smaller than in the intermediate region of the wound body. The variable loadings within the wall of the case are taken into consideration by this change in the angles of intersection. Increased tensile and pressure loadings arise, in particular, in the adaptation regions for projectile and end socket. The wound body becomes more stable within the range of small angles of intersection, particularly in relation to pressure loadings in the radial direction. In the central region of the case, tensile loading predominates. This is taken into account there by virtue of a larger angle of intersection of the filaments.
In a further refinement of the invention, the angles of intersection in the adaptation region of the projectile can be smaller than in the adaptation region of the end socket. For example, the tank ammunition projectile has a mass of several kilograms. In order that the projectile is held securely in the case, the wall of the case has to have an appropriate load-carrying capacity. This is obtained by virtue of a denser deposition of filaments than in the remaining part of the wound body, that is, by a smaller spacing of the filaments which are deposited alongside one another, with a smaller angle of intersection. The end socket loads the wound body less than the projectile does. By reason of the flow conditions in the combustible gases, the burn-up behaviour of the wound body is slower in the adaptation region of the end socket than in the remaining region of the case. The burn-up behaviour can be improved by virtue of so-called pores, the unfilled interstices between the filaments. Pores arise if the winding of the filaments is less dense, that is to say with larger angles of intersection and with larger spacings of the filaments which are deposited alongside one another. The angles of intersection may, for ammunition of calibre 120 mm for example, be distributed over the wound body as follows: in the adaptation region of the projectile approximately between 15xc2x0 and 30xc2x0, in the adaptation region of the end socket approximately between 30xc2x0 and 50xc2x0, and in the central region of the wound body up to 90xc2x0. However, the invention is not intended to be restricted to these gradations or to the stated limiting values. The angles of intersection are to be matched to the calibre and to the intended use of the ammunition and hence substantially to the diameter and the length of the case.
Compression of the wound body at its respective ends, the adaptation regions, can be effected by lowering the angle of intersection in single-stage or multi-stage steps. However, a continuous decrease in the angle of intersection in the direction towards the respective adaptation regions can also be obtained by controlling the deposition of the filaments. The tensile and pressure loadings of the case are made uniform with a wound body that has been built up in this way.
Influence can be exerted not only on the load-carrying capacity of the case but also on its burn-up or consumption behaviour through the choice of the angles of intersection. Thus in a wound package that consists of several double layers the angles of intersection in the respective double layers may differ from one another. In order to assist, in particular, the effect of the propellant charge in the course of burn-up, it can be advantageous if the wall is structured in the radial direction in such a way that by virtue of the presetting of small angles of intersection, the outermost layers are able to withstand a higher pressure loading than the inner layers. By this means, a higher resistance is set against the radial deformation of the case in the course of burn-up of the propellant charge, so that the effect of the propellant charge on the projectile in the axial direction is assisted.
A particularly high strength of a layer of the wound package is obtained when the filaments are interwoven with one another, at least within a double layer. The individual filament layers, also in a double layer in the walls of a case that are built up from intersecting layers of the filaments, are situated above one another separately. With a method of deposition of the filaments that is different from the method of winding known from textile technology, the filaments can be interwoven with one another, whereby the angle of intersection may also differ from 90xc2x0 as is conventional in woven fabrics. The braiding pattern can be matched to the loading of the case and also to the burn-up behaviour of the wound package. The walls of the cases, the wound bodies of which have a structure consisting of filaments that have been interwoven with one another, have a particularly high strength and are therefore suitable, in particular, for large projectiles, for example for tank ammunition.
In order to accelerate and consequently to assist the burn-up or consumption of the wound package, an explosive substance can be admixed to the binding agent with which the filaments are impregnated or coated. In another refinement of the invention the interspaces between the filaments and the filament layers can also be filled at least partially with an explosive substance. The unfilled interspaces between the filaments and the individual filament layers form pores and can be utilised for the purpose of assisting the combustion or consumption of the wound package. The oxygen of the trapped air in the residual pores assists the combustion. In addition, the pores offer a surface of attack for the propellant gases, accelerating the burn-up or the consumption. The term xe2x80x98burningxe2x80x99 in this context means that the constituents of the wound package actively participate in the combustion process. The term xe2x80x98consuming filamentsxe2x80x99 is to be understood to mean those filaments which predominantly decompose in the course of the combustion of the propellant charge to form gaseous substances and/or to form finely dispersed particles. Suitable materials for the filaments and compositions of the propellants and binding agents are known from DE 38 25 581 C1.
By reason of the method of winding it is possible to control the deposition of the filaments in such a way that, in particular, the adaptation regions for the projectile or the end socket, are shaped in such a way that simple assembly of the ammunition is possible. The adaptation region for the projectile, a flange-shaped thickening, for example, can be formed in particular at the mouth of the case. In the course of the assembly of an initially disassembled projectile, this thickening needs only, for example, to be clamped between the parts and in this way enables an exactly fitting and firm seating of the projectile.
Moreover, it is possible to produce a case that is suitable for receiving projectiles of variable type and size. Adaptation can be effected with such a configuration by means of a matching piece, a projectile-receiving adapter, that is capable of being integrated into the wound package, that is to say is already placed, for example, on the winding mandrel in the course of production of the wound package and is wound over.
The shaping of a thickening at the mouth of the case for the purpose of securing a projectile body in the course of producing the wound package is possible in straightforward manner by additional filament layers being deposited at the mouth of the case. Deposition of the filaments can be effected most simply by the filaments being deposited, predominantly parallel to one another, onto the end of the wound package that is already present. Deposition of the filaments in a slightly intersecting layer can also be effected to the extent that it is possible by reason of the technical circumstances. The case wall and the thickening can consequently be produced integrally. In order to guarantee an optimal accuracy of fit in the course of insertion of the projectile and insertion of the end socket, a machining of the wound package, for example grinding or stripping, may be required in the adaptation regions.
The end socket can be adhesion-bonded to the wound package or mechanically connected to it using one of the known joining methods. The end socket is constructed in such a way that the end region of its cylindrical wall is provided for the purpose of securing the wound package. The end socket is pushed into the wound package together with this part. The remaining part of the end socket is configured in such a way that it contains a sealing ring, with which a leakage of gas, that is to say an emission of the propellant gases counter to the direction of transport of the projectile past the bottom of the case, is prevented. One or more sealing rings may be provided depending on the calibre and the size of the propellant charge.